Prisoner Escapes

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many prisoners have escaped custody while on their way to court in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Paul Goggins: No prisoners have escaped from the custody of prison staff while on their way to court in Northern Ireland during the last three years. However, a high risk prisoner escaped from the holding cells at Lisburn courthouse on 7 June 2005 while in the custody of Maybin Custodial Services. The escape was frilly investigated. Every effort is now made to avoid sending high risk prisoners to Lisburn. If necessary, additional safeguards are put in place.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the Winter Supplementary Estimates (HC 29), if she will break down her Department's  (a) main estimate and  (b) winter supplementary estimate provision by subhead in (i) near cash and (ii) non-cash terms.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Near-cash and non-cash are essentially used as departmental expenditure limit (DEL) budgetary control concepts and are not specifically identified with voted resources in estimates. However, we have been able to break down net total resources for each section in the Part II: Subhead detail table of our Main and Winter Supplementary Estimates as follows:
	
		
			  £000 
			Main estimate 2007-08  Winter Supplementary 2007-08 
			  Section  Section title  Near cash  Non cash  Total  Near cash  Non cash  Total 
			 A Ports and shipping services 15,036 1,353 16,389 13,985 1,353 15,338 
			 B Maritime and Coastguard Agency 113,279 6,828 120,107 113,449 6,828 120,277 
			 C Aviation services 17,258 4,507 21,765 17,225 4,507 21,732 
			 D Transport security and royal travel 18,700 0 18,700 26,215 46 26,261 
			 E Highways Agency 1,364,097 600,038 1,964,135 1,364,097 600,038 1,964,135 
			 F Publicity and advice 19,997 0 19,997 19,997 0 19,997 
			 G Research 36,998 1,570 38,568 28,055 2,570 30,625 
			 H Statistics, censuses and surveys 13,262 216 13,478 11,071 216 11,287 
			 1 Consultancies and other services for roads and local transport 5,799 0 5,799 10,389 0 10,389 
			 J Mobility and Inclusion Unit 4,902 61 4,963 5,961 61 6,022 
			 K Strategic Transport Studies 1,500 0 1,500 1,500 0 1,500 
			 L Railways 3,523,886 12,250 3,536,136 3,865,413 -7,650 3,857,763 
			 M Commission for Integrated Transport 1,500 0 1,500 1,500 0 1,500 
			 N Freight Grants 22,608 0 22,608 25,508 0 25,508 
			 O Bus Service Operator Grant 417,300 0 417,300 413,521 0 413,521 
			 P Vehicle Excise Duty enforcement -34,450 0 -34,450 -300 0 -300 
			 Q Vehicle Certification Agency enforcement 1,300 0 1,300 1,300 0 1,300 
			 R Vehicle Certification Agency -248 360 112 -248 360 112 
			 S Powershift and CleanUp 18,000 0 18,000 18,000 0 18,000 
			 T Dartford River Crossing -67,000 0 -67,000 -67,000 0 -67,000 
			 U Driving Standards Agency trading fund -540 335 -205 -1,740 935 -805 
			 V Vehicle and Operator Services Agency trading fund -2,393 1,152 -1,241 -3,693 2,852 -841 
			 W Vehicle and Operator Services Agency enforcement 11,421 0 11,421 17,721 0 17,721 
			 X Central Administration 160,252 20,464 180,716 189,228 20,418 209,646 
			 Y Trans-European network payments for transport projects (net) 3 0 3 3 0 3 
			 Z Driver, Vehicle and Operator Group central (including loan pool) 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 AA Other River Crossings -16,001 16,001 0 -16,001 27,001 11,000 
			 AB Haulage efficiency and modernisation projects 2,000 0 2,000 2,000 0 2,000 
			 AC Government Car and Despatch Agency -1,526 1,526 0 -1,526 1,526 0 
			 AD GLA Transport Grant (resource) 2,375,970 0 2,375,970 2,396,500 0 2,396,500 
			 AE Other Transport Grants (resource) 567,449 0 567,449 562,284 0 562,284 
			 AF Other Transport Grants (capital) 1,045,506 0 1,045,506 1,086,183 0 1,086,183 
			 AG Highways Agency 45,138 3,400,786 3,445,924 45,138 3,400,786 3,445,924 
			 AH Grant-in-Aid funding of NDPB's and PC's 182,700 0 182,700 182,700 0 182,700 
			 Al Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (trading fund) 228,508 0 228,508 228,508 0 228,508 
			 
			  Total 10,092,211 4,067,447 14,159,658 10,556,943 4,061,847 14,618,790

International Labour Organisation Maritime Labour Convention

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she expects the UK to ratify the International Labour Organisation Maritime Labour Convention.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The UK Government, in line with all other EU member states, are committed to ratifying the Maritime Labour Convention and aims to do so by 2010, or earlier if possible.

Railways: Freight

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate she has made of the maximum additional  (a) passenger and  (b) freight capacity in percentage terms which can be delivered by the existing rail network without the reopening of lines or opening of new lines; and what additional capacity in percentage terms is likely to be delivered by the implementation of all proposals in the Government's Delivering A Sustainable Railway paper.

Tom Harris: No estimate has been made of the maximum additional capacity possible on the existing network. This would depend not only on the nature and extent of investment, but on the type, routeing, timetabling and mix of train services operated.
	In the July 2007 White Paper 'Delivering a Sustainable Railway', the Government set out the capacity required to meet forecast passenger demand in England and Wales to 2014, taking into account the needs of freight, and is investing in the railway to meet this growth.

Railways: Norwich

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many and what percentage of delays to trains on the Norwich to London railway line there were between the hours of  (a) 6 am and 10 am,  (b) 10 am and 3 pm and  (c) 4 pm and 11.30 pm in each direction in 2007.

Tom Harris: The Department does not receive the information at this level of detail. Data relating to punctuality of train services is collected and processed by Network Rail. The hon. Member should contact Network Rail's chief executive at the following address for a response to his question.
	Iain Coucher
	Chief Executive
	Network Rail
	40 Melton Street
	London NW1 2EE

Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) Order 1995

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether she authorised the Article 14 directions under the Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) Order 1995, issued by the Highways Agency in relation to the Durham Green Business Park in  (a) 2006 and  (b) 2005.

Tom Harris: As an Executive agency of the Department for Transport, the Highways Agency has delegated authority to make the relevant decisions under the Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) Order 1995 in the name of the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State was riot asked to approve the Highways Agency decisions and had no involvement in any part of the process.

Cyprus

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 7 January 2008,  Official Report, column 90W, on Cyprus: diplomatic relations, what meetings were held during the visit to Cyprus by the Government's Special Representative to Cyprus, the hon. Member for Enfield, North, in October 2007; and what the cost of the visit was.

Jim Murphy: My right hon. Friend the Member for Enfield, North (Joan Ryan) met the following representatives from both communities during her visit to Cyprus in October 2007:
	UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Michael Moller, UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), Chief of Staff Peter Fraser Hopewell and US Ambassador Ron Schlicher;
	UNFICYP Green Line Tour with Peter Fraser Hopewell;
	Cyprus House of Representatives President and Progressive Party of the Working People of Cyprus (AKEL) leader, Demetris Christofias;
	Ioannis Kasoulides, opposition leader;
	Eleni Mavrou, Mayor of Nicosia (AKEL);
	Bicommunal civil society groups and the UN Development Programme Action for Co-operation and Trust;
	Republic of Cyprus Foreign Minister, Erato Marcoullis;
	President of the Republic of Cyprus, Tassos Papadopoulos;
	Nicos Anastassiades, leader of opposition party Democratic Rally;
	Emine Erk, Turkish Cypriot Human Rights Foundation;
	Mehmet Ali Talat, Leader of Turkish Cypriot Community;
	Rasit Pertev, former "Under-secretary" to Mehmet Talat;
	Tahsin Ertugruloglu;
	Oktay Kayalp;
	Oya Talat;
	Ferdi Sabat Soyer, Republican Turkish Party (CTP) Leader.
	Commander British Forces in Cyprus and Sovereign Base Area Administrator, Air Vice Marshall Dick Lacey; and
	Chief Officer of Sovereign Base Areas, Peter Draycott.
	The cost of the visit £937.60, was met by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Fly Tipping: Prosecutions

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many prosecutions were  (a) undertaken and  (b) successful in relation to fly-tipping incidents in 2006-07 in (i) absolute terms and (ii) as a percentage of the total number of fly-tipping incidents.

Joan Ruddock: Prosecution data is taken from Flycapture, the national fly-tipping database. In 2006-07, local authorities and the Environment Agency submitted the data in the following table.
	Prosecutions figures are only cases taken through the court system and do not include wider enforcement action.
	In 2006-07, local authorities recorded an additional 378,974 enforcement actions, consisting of warning letters, statutory notices, fixed penalty notices, duty of care inspections, vehicle seizures and formal cautions. Excluding Liverpool city council, this figure was 172,042.
	
		
			   Local authorities  Environment Agency 
			 Total incidents 2,633,518 982 
			 Total incidents (excluding Liverpool city council) 1,316,209 n/a 
			 Total prosecutions undertaken 1,371 161 
			 Successful prosecutions 1,289 152 
			 Total prosecutions as percentage of total incidents 0.05 16.4 
			 Total prosecutions as percentage of total (excluding Liverpool city council) 0.1 n/a 
			 Successful prosecutions as percentage of total incidents 0.05 15.5 
			 Successful prosecutions as percentage of total incidents (excluding Liverpool city council) 0.1 n/a

Home Energy Efficiency Scheme: Standards

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate his Department has made of the average waiting time for  (a) receipt of a quotation and  (b) completion of work under the Warm Front scheme in the latest period for which figures are available.

Phil Woolas: Data on the waiting times for the receipt of a quotation is not collected.
	Average waiting times since April 2007 are 65.3 working days for heating measures and 26.7 working days for insulation measures, from the point of the Warm Front assessment survey.

Plastics: Biodegradability

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what the Government's policy is on biodegradable plastics;
	(2)  what recent discussions  (a) he and  (b) officials from his Department have had with third parties on the use of biodegradeable plastics.

Joan Ruddock: The Government fully support the development of new, innovative technologies including some products made from biodegradable materials and particularly the sustainable development of biodegradable plastics from non-fossil sources.
	The strategy for non-food crops and uses, (published in November 2004 by DEFRA and the former Department of Trade and Industry), set out a number of actions, aimed at promoting opportunities for biopolymers and other renewable products.
	The strategy recognises that polymers derived from renewable materials can have lifecycle advantages over petrochemical based products, provided they are correctly disposed of, usually through composting or, in some circumstances, incineration with energy recovery. The Government are working with industry and trade organisations to support the development of schemes to increase composting of biodegradable materials and to inform consumers and businesses of the importance of doing this.

Special Boat Squadron: Pay

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  when he expects the Special Boat Service personnel serving in Afghanistan to receive their full pay;
	(2)  when the Specialist Pay Team last paid the salaries of the Special Boat Service in Afghanistan;
	(3)  what steps he has taken with the Specialist Pay Team to ensure the payment of the full salaries of the Special Boat Service in Afghanistan.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 29 November 2007
	Problems have been identified with the specialist pay components of total salary for a small number of members of the Special Boat Service. This is very much regretted. I have asked for the issues to be investigated and I will write to the hon. Member when the investigation is complete.
	 Substantive answer from Derek Twigg to Derek Wyatt:
	I undertook to write to you in answer to your Parliamentary Questions of 3 December 2007, (Official Report, column 844W), about the problems identified with the specialist pay components of the total salary received by a small number of the Special Boat Service personnel serving in Afghanistan. Clearly, any inconvenience caused to our personnel is very much regretted.
	Staff within the Royal Navy and the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency (SPVA) have completed their investigations and these have revealed that a small number of personnel did not have their employment category, grade scale and payroll type changed successfully on the JPA system on joining the SBS. The principle cause of
	these omissions has been identified as unfamiliarity with the new JPA processes. I can confirm that the issue was not caused by any problem with the JPA Information Technology system.
	In consultation with the SPVA, the Royal Navy Human Resource staff have made the necessary changes to the affected individuals' records. The JPA system has automatically recalculated and paid the relevant personnel their full entitlements in the December pay run, and I can confirm that the correct monies have now been credited to the individuals' bank accounts.
	The Royal Navy Human Resource staff have informed the affected personnel that the problem has been identified and remedial action taken. In addition, the Human Resource staff have received additional instructions and guidance to ensure that the error does not reoccur.
	In cases where Service personnel experience pay problems arrangements are in place for emergency payments to be made. Individuals have access to duty personnel at their parent units who are able to make arrangements for emergency issues of cash if required or arrange support by other units if, for example, an individual is on leave in the UK when normally based in Germany.
	Where problems do arise with the pay of personnel deployed on operations there is a fast track process, that can be instigated by either the individual Service person, or their spouse/partner in the UK, that allows the unit Human Resource staff direct access to the SPVA Customer Complaints Team.
	I hope this is helpful.

Child Benefit: Personal Records

Nigel Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer to how many people HM Revenue and Customs has written to advise them that their personal data was included on the two lost discs; how many families this accounted for; and what the total cost of this correspondence was.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 6 December 2007
	For the year April 2006 to March 2007 HMRC handled approximately 300 million pieces of outgoing post at a cost of around £79 million.
	The cost of sending letters to the families affected by the recent loss of data by HMRC is estimated at £2.25 million including postage costs.

Conditional Cautions

David Kidney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of conditional cautions in bringing about the payment of compensation by offenders to victims.

Maria Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
	The conditional cautioning scheme is still in the process of being rolled out across England and Wales, with full coverage due by March 2008. While central collection of data began in 2005, concerns over quality, which we are currently addressing, mean that figures have yet to be published. However, information from the Crown Prosecution Service, made available to practitioners, shows that between 1 April 2005 and 30 November 2007, almost 5,000 conditional cautions were issued. Approximately 63 per cent. of these involved the payment of compensation. Data for the same period shows a non-compliance rate for all conditional cautions of just under 6 per cent.

Departmental Pay

Sarah Teather: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 26 November 2007,  Official Report, column 49W, on departmental pay, how many of those earning over £100,000 were employed  (a) as special advisers and  (b) in a political role in each year since 1997.

Angela Eagle: Since 2003, the Government have published on an annual basis the number of special advisers in each pay band. For the most recent, information I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister on 22 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 147-51WS.
	Information on the numbers and costs of special advisers prior to 2003 was provided at regular intervals and this information will be available in the Library of the House.

Departmental Pay

Stephen Hammond: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer how many officials in (a) his Department and (b) his Department's agencies received bonuses in each year since 2002; and what the total sum paid in bonuses was in each case in each of those years.

Angela Eagle: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr. Hammond) on 8 October 2007,  Official Report, column 218-19W.

Housing: Carbon Emissions

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what records  (a) the Valuation Office Agency and  (b) his Department keep of the number and location of zero carbon homes.

Jane Kennedy: The stamp duty land tax relief for new zero carbon homes can be claimed using the stamp duty land tax return, which contains a specific code for this tax relief. HM Revenue and Customs is therefore able to monitor the number of claims and the amount of relief given. HM Treasury has access to this data in an aggregated form. The Valuation Office Agency does not collate information in respect of zero carbon homes.

Joint Child Poverty Unit

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his responsibilities are in relation to the Joint Child Poverty Unit; and what arrangements are in place for liaison with other Departments on the work of the Unit.

Jane Kennedy: The Child Poverty Unit brings together the expertise of officials from both DWP and DCSF. HMT works closely with the Unit and officials
	are in regular contact. The Child Poverty Unit is a member of the PSA Board chaired by HMT.
	The Child Poverty Unit will report to a child poverty board comprised of senior officials from across Whitehall. At ministerial level, this board will report to DA(FCY). The Unit is also currently setting up working groups with officials across a number of Government Departments and Local Government Offices.

Proof of Concept Pilot Scheme

Greg Clark: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what results have been reported from the proof of concept pilot scheme between HM Revenue and Customs, the Department for Work and Pensions and 12 local authorities; and when he plans to publish those results.

James Plaskitt: I have been asked to reply.
	The findings from the joint working proof of concept between Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, the Department of Work and Pensions and 12 local authorities were fed into Sir David Varney's report, "Service Transformation a Better Service for Citizens and Businesses: A Better Deal for the Taxpayer", published in December 2006. This report recommended the establishment of a service that enables a citizen to report a change in circumstance only once starting with birth and bereavement, followed by change of address. The Department for Work and Pensions is taking forward this recommendation on behalf of Government as a whole and will present its business case to Her Majesty's Treasury for a decision on whether or not to begin implementation from April 2009.

Revenue and Customs: Cardiff

Anne Main: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion and how many of the staff at HM Revenue and Customs office in Ty-Glas Llanishen, Cardiff were employed  (a) on permanent contracts,  (b) on temporary contracts and  (c) via an employment agency in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: The headcount data for HMRC staff on  (a) permanent HMRC contracts and  (b) non-permanent HMRC contracts, in Ty-Glas Llanishen, Cardiff for each of the last three years and at October 2007 is as follows:
	
		
			   Permanent  Non-permanent  Total 
			 1 April 2005 2,458 142 2,600 
			 1 April 2006 2,451 201 2,652 
			 1 April 2007 2,613 225 2,838 
			 1 October 2007 2,567 159 2,726 
		
	
	Data for agency staff is not available.

Revenue and Customs: Tyne and Wear

Anne Main: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion and how many of the staff at HM Revenue and Customs office in Washington, Tyne and Wear were employed  (a) on permanent contracts,  (b) on temporary contracts and  (c) via an employment agency in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: The headcount data for HMRC staff on  (a) permanent HMRC contracts and  (b) non-permanent HMRC contracts, in Washington, Tyne and Wear for each of the last three years and at October 2007 is as follows:
	
		
			   Permanent  Non-permanent  Total 
			 1 April 2005 2,832 292 3,124 
			 1 April 2006 2,619 349 2,968 
			 1 April 2007 2,539 272 2,811 
			 1 October 2007 2,498 230 2,728 
		
	
	Data for agency staff is not available.

Stamp Duties

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many homes, according to HM Revenue and Customs stamp duty land tax return records, have claimed the zero rate of stamp duty on zero carbon homes.

Jane Kennedy: The stamp duty land tax relief for new zero carbon homes has been claimed for three transactions A stamp duty land tax certificate was issued for these transactions between 1 October 2007, the date from which the relief can be claimed, and the end of November 2007.
	HMRC expect the numbers of qualifying transactions to rise as more properties eligible to claim the relief go on the market. The Government are committed to conducting an interim review of the relief in 2010 which will examine the effectiveness of the relief in stimulating the innovation necessary to ensure that by 2016 all new homes are zero-carbon.

Admiralty House

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster for how many months the official ministerial residences in Admiralty House previously occupied by the  (a) right hon. Member for Ashfield and  (b) right hon. Member for Derby South have remained empty.

Gillian Merron: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 17 December 2007,  Official Report, column 1080W.

Departmental Legal Opinion

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much has been spent by  (a) the Cabinet Office and  (b) the Prime Minister's Office on legal advice in relation to police investigations in each of the last 12 months.

Phil Hope: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Edward Miliband) to the hon. Member for Horsham (Mr. Maude) and the hon. Member for North Norfolk (Norman Lamb) on 10 January 2008,  Official Report, columns 755-56W.

Departmental Property

David Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much has been spent by the Prime Minister's Office on renovation and refurbishment of its property in each of the last five years.

Gillian Merron: The Government are legally required to maintain the Downing Street complex to standards appropriate to its Grade 1/2 listed status in consultation with English Heritage. In addition to providing office accommodation the building also fulfils an important representational role.
	No significant refurbishment works have been undertaken at the Downing street complex since the large scale rebuilding works that took place between 1960 and 1963. As a result much of the infrastructure now needs to be renewed or upgraded. It has therefore been recommended that essential improvements are undertaken through on-going annual maintenance works.
	For details of the total costs of refurbishment, maintenance and structural improvements between 2002-03 and 2004-05, I refer the hon. Member to the answer the Prime Minister gave the hon. Member for Bridgwater (Mr. Liddell-Grainger) on 16 March 2006,  Official Report, column 2393W. For details of the total costs of refurbishment and maintenance for 2005-06, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend, the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Hilary Armstrong) to the hon. Member for North-East Hertfordshire (Mr. Heald) on 12 March 2007,  Official Report, column 97W.
	For 2006-07 work commenced on replacing the failed cooling and heating systems, part of a rolling programme of refurbishment that will take several years to complete. The cost in 2006-07 was £734,631. The cost of refurbishment, maintenance and other structural improvements in 2006-07 was £648,614. This expenditure was funded out of existing budgets to maintain the fixed assets, plant and machinery, the fabric of the building, floors, walls and ceilings and the upkeep and repair of heritage assets, and to ensure a safe working environment for staff and visitors.

Public Participation: Incentives

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 5 December 2007,  Official Report, column 1344W, on public participation: incentives, what the cost to the public purse of the forum was.

Gillian Merron: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for North-West Cambridgeshire (Mr. Vara) on 17 December 2007,  Official Report, column 1083W, by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Edward Miliband).

Housing: Carbon Emissions

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what criteria she uses to determine whether a home may be classified as an eco-home.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 19 November 2007
	The Government criteria for high environmental standards in housing is set out in the Code for Sustainable Homes which has six levels.
	The code is a set of sustainable design principles covering performance of new homes in nine key areas, including Energy and CO2 Emissions, Water, Materials, Surface Water Run-off, Waste, Pollution, Health and Well-being, Management and Ecology.
	New homes that are assessed against the code receive a one to six star rating. A one star home is built to higher sustainability standards that those set out in building regulations while a six star home is a truly sustainable—zero carbon—home. The criteria on how to achieve each star rating is set out in detail in 'Code for Sustainable Homes: Technical guide' available on the Communities and Local Government's website at:
	www.communities.gov.uk/thecode.
	The code is based on the Building Research Establishment's Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) for homes 'EcoHomes', which it replaced for new homes in England from April 2007. The code is more robust than 'Ecohomes' as it sets minimum standards for Energy/CO2, Water, Materials, Surface Water Run-off and Waste.

Housing: Low Incomes

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many affordable homes have been built in each local authority area in England in each of the last five years.

Iain Wright: I have placed information on the numbers of affordable homes provided for each local authority areas in the Library. These numbers include social rent, intermediate rent, and low cost home ownership, and cover new build and acquisitions.

Chorley Magistrates Court

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what effect staff training on a new computer system is likely to have on the availability of courts at Chorley magistrates court.

Maria Eagle: South-West Lancashire magistrates courts will be migrating to a new IT system (called Libra) on 9 May 2008. This migration is part of a national roll-out programme to bring a new, improved and consistent IT package to all magistrates courts in the country. An integral element of the implementation will be the training of staff to operate the new system efficiently. To reduce the impact of staff absences, and keep disruption to court users to a minimum, staff training will take place on site at Chorley magistrates court.
	To facilitate this, one courtroom at Chorley magistrates court will be closed for six weeks. The work that would ordinarily be accommodated in this court will be allocated to neighbouring courthouses, namely Leyland and Ormskirk (primarily to Leyland). This arrangement will be monitored to ensure it is operating effectively, and to minimise any impact on court services.
	Timely roll-out of Libra is particularly important for the Lancashire magistrates courts, as their existing IT systems are coming to the end of their working life, and are becoming increasingly unreliable. Were the existing IT to fail, it is unlikely that the position could be recovered, and court data would be corrupted and or lost.

Departmental Consultants

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many outside consultants were employed by his Department to provide  (a) advice and  (b) design services for the (i) NOMIS programme, (ii) C-NOMIS, (iii) LIDS, (iv) Data Share, (v) OASys and (vi) CRAMS; and what the cost of each contract was to his Department.

David Hanson: The NOMIS programme consists of:
	(a) A version of C-NOMIS to be provided to HM Prison Service.
	(b) 'Data Share' which will provide a new mechanism for the sharing of information between Prisons and Probation Areas.
	(c) A redeveloped OASys system to provide a single offender risk assessment system across Prisons and Probation Areas.
	(d) National Probation Service Case Management Systems, with Delius (a system already in use in some Probation Areas) being implemented in others where systems are in urgent need of replacement. Options to address a range of issues associated with CRAMS (the case management system currently in use in most probation areas) are also being considered.
	This response considers these, but does not cover legacy systems such as LIDS, existing OASys systems and the existing CRAMS, which are all outside the NOMIS Programme. Advisory and design expenditure around such legacy systems is understandably limited.
	The NOMIS programme has so far this financial year employed five firms for providing advice and 15 firms for providing design services. The numbers cover firms directly employed and exclude those engaged through a subcontracting route.
	The NOMIS programme is about the development and associated implementation of new systems and so most of the expenditure can be considered as relating to design activity, especially as a full implementation has not yet been commenced for any of its elements. The total amount expensed by the programme with firms providing just advisory services in the nine months to the end of December 2007 is estimated at £0.6 million.
	The cost of each contract is commercially confidential and therefore this information is not provided.
	Until recently the focus of the NOM1S Programme has principally been on C-NOMIS and so nearly all the expenditure, and hence numbers of firms employed, are attributable to it. One firm providing limited design services to the redeveloped OASys is not though engaged on the C-NOMIS project. The other parts of the NOMIS Programme have also involved discussions with various potential parties but have not involved the employment of additional advisors or designers.

Departmental Labour Turnover

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the percentage turnover of staff was in  (a) his Department and  (b) his Department's agencies in (i) the last 12-month period and (ii) the last 24-month period for which figures are available.

Maria Eagle: The percentage turnover rate for (i) the last 12 months and (ii) the last 24 months of staff for the Ministry of Justice headquarters and its agencies is detailed in the following tables.
	
		
			  (a) Percentage staff turnover rate for Ministry of Justice headquarter s 
			  Percentage 
			   (i) Covering 12-month annualised period  (ii) Covering 24-month annualised period 
			 Ministry of Justice (excluding agencies) 9.01 8.07 
			 Office for Criminal Justice Reform (1)— (1)— 
			 National Offender Management Service (1)— (1)— 
			 (1) The figures for the National Offender Management Service and Office for Criminal Justice Reform are included in the response to this question from the Home Office. 
		
	
	
		
			  (b) Percentage staff turnover rate for Ministry of Justice' agencies 
			  Percentage 
			   (i) Covering 12-month period annualised  (ii) Covering 24-month period annualised 
			 Her Majesty's Prisons Service 8.20 8.40 
			 Her Majesty's Courts Service 9.00 9.02 
			 Office of the Public Guardian 9.82 9.49 
			 Tribunals Service 8.74 9.64 
			 Scotland Office and offices of Advocate General 11.76 6.67 
			 Wales Office 14.55 19.81 
			 Land Registry 3.57 3.44 
			 National Archives 13.85 14.93

Departmental Manpower

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of his Department's staff are employed within each salary band; what the title and role of each position within each salary band is; and for each salary band what the  (a) bonus structure,  (b) retirement provision,  (c) expenses provision,  (d) total expenses incurred in each of the last 10 years,  (e) average age of employee,  (f) number of (i) women and (ii) men and  (g) ethnic composition is.

Maria Eagle: Table A shown in the following has been collated to show grade bands and job roles; each of the grade bands/job roles command different levels of remuneration dependent on responsibility levels, economic factors and department/agency within the Ministry of Justice.
	The narrative provides a response to  (a) bonus structure  (b) retirement provision  (c) expense provision  (d) total expenses incurred.
	Table B sets out the percentage of staff employed within each of the salary bands together with information in respect of  (e) average age of employee  (f) number of (i) women and (ii) men an- (g) ethnic composition
	The Ministry of Justice' salary bands are based on responsibility level as detailed in the following table. The precise roles performed by staff within each band is not recorded centrally.
	
		
			  Table A 
			  Former DCA (incl. HMCS, Tribunals Service, PGO, HQ and associated offices)  Former DCA (inc HMCS, Tribunals Service, PGO, HQ and associated offices)  Home Office  Prison Service 
			  New Bands  Examples  Examples  Examples 
			 SCS Pay band 1/1A Deputy Director   
			 SCS Pay band 2 Director   
			 SCS Pay band 3 Director-General   
			 
			  Band A Senior Manager Grade 6/7 Medical Officer 
			  Lawyer  Pharmacist 
			  Regional HR Business Partner  Senior Manager A 
			  Regional Manager Estates  Senior Manager B 
			  Probate Registrar  Senior Manager C 
			  Regional Manager Performance  Senior Manager D 
			  Senior Policy Worker  Senior Medical Officer 
			Medical Officer PT 
			 
			  Band B Senior Manager SEO Chaplain 1 and 2 
			  Area HR Business Partner  Manager E 
			  Court Manager  Manager F 
			  Policy Officer  Nursing Grades 
			  Finance Manager  Pharmacist 
			 
			  Band C Section Leader HEO HEO 
			  Court Manager  Manager G 
			  Caseworker  Medical Technical Officer Grade 8 
			  Budget Manager  Nursing Grades 
			  Project Officer  Pharmacist 
			 
			  Band D Court Manager EO Assistant Chaplain 
			  1st Line Manager  Catering Manager 
			  Judges Clerk  EO/TUPE Transfer/IG1 
			  Project Officer  Farm and Gardens Grades 
			  Bailiff Manager  Industrial 
			  Personal Assistant  Instructional Officer 
			Medical Technical Officer Grade 5 
			Nursing Grades 
			Pharmacist/ Pharmacy Technician 
			Principal Officer 
			Prof and Tech Officer 
			Scientific Officer 
			Senior Personal Secretary 
			Stores Officer C, D 
			Trainee Psychologist 
			Typing Manager / Senior Officer 
			 
			  Band E Team Worker 2/Admin Officer AO AO 
			  Bailiff  Catering Manager 
			  Senior Usher  Industrial 
			Medical Technical Officer Grade 4 
			Nursing Grades 
			Personal Secretary 
			Pharmacist 
			Prison Officer / IDS 
			Psychologist Assistant 
			Senior Officer 
			Senior Officer IDS 
			Support Grade Band 1 
			Technical Grade 1 IG 2,3 
			 
			  Band F Usher AA AA 
			  Cleaner  Assistant Storeperson 
			  Admin Support  Industrial 
			  Messenger  Medical Technical Officer 
			  Telephonist  Night Patrol 
			  Paperkeeper  Nursing Grades 
			  Security  OSG/IG4,5 
			  Typist  Typist / Support Grade Band 2 
		
	
	 (a) Bonus structure. SCS bonuses are allocated by the Departmental Pay Committee in accordance with guidelines issued by Cabinet Office each year following the Senior Salaries Review Body recommendations. Within the former Department for Constitutional Affairs, the Office for Criminal Justice Reform and the National Offender Management Service Performance Bonus is paid to staff who achieve the top performance marking over the appraisal year. The level of bonus payments vary by grade and business unit. There is no defined bonus structure for staff other than senior civil servants in the Prison Service. In addition, the Ministry of Justice' staff have access to a range of in-year bonuses awarded locally under various Recognition and reward schemes. These awards include small gifts or vouchers, small bonuses of up to £100 and special bonuses of £100 or more. Special bonuses provide recognition for outstanding achievements by staff for working on demanding tasks or situations.
	 (b) Retirement provision. The normal retirement age for staff is 65 although Justices' Clerks have a normal retirement age of 70. The minimum retirement age, irrespective of grade, is 60. Staff who wish to remain employed beyond the normal retirement age may do so provided they meet the normal standards of health, efficiency, conduct, performance and attendance. Requests to work beyond age 70 are allowed only in exceptional circumstances.
	 (c) Expenses provision. There are numerous types of expenses paid. In the main these are based on standard allowances or reimbursement of expenses within defined guidelines.
	 (d) It is not possible to provide the total expenses incurred for each grade for each of the last 10 years. This information could y be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	 (e) Figures on the average age of employee,  (f) number of (i) women and (ii) men and  (g) ethnic composition are reflected in the following tables. The bands are based on responsibility level as illustrated in Table A. The precise roles performed by staff within each band is not recorded centrally.
	The following tables reflect the figures within the Ministry of Justice Headquarters and Agencies as at reference date 30 September 2007.
	
		
			  Table  B 
			  Ministry o f  Justice Headquarters 
			  Salary band  Full time equivalent of all staff  Salary bands as % of all staff  Average age of all staff  Headcount gender all staff  Headcount of permanent on strength ethnicity 
			  M  F  White  BME  Undeclared  Not k nown  Total 
			 SCS 85.94 3.70 48.59 49 39 57 (1)— (1)— 13 70 
			 Grade 6, 7 465.93 20.20 42.96 231 246 287 24 22 91 424 
			 SEO 371.15 16.10 43.24 183 200 237 40 28 45 350 
			 HEO 522.32 22.70 40.92 231 310 295 94 46 68 503 
			 Fast Streamer 36 1 .60 27.47 19 17 12 (1)— (1)— 10 22 
			 EO 418.52 18.20 38.95 176 257 160 117 55 62 394 
			 AO 365.55 15.90 38.09 11 270 137 93 22 71 323 
			 AA 34.87 1.50 40.73 17 19 15 6 (1)— 6 27 
			 Unknown Band 3 0.10 49.23 0 3 (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 0 
			 Grand Totals 2,303.28 100.00 41.13 1,022 1,361 1,200 374 173 366 2113 
		
	
	
		
			  Her Majesty's  P risons Service 
			  Salary band  Full time equivalent of all staff  Salary bands as % of all staff  Average age of all staff  Headcount gender all staff  Headcount of permanent on strength ethnicity 
			  M  F  White  BME  Undeclared  Not known  Total 
			 SCS 43 0.10 49.4 35 8 35 (1)— (1)—  35 
			 Grade 6, 7 625 1.30 49.4 400 225 550 (1)— (1)— (1)— 550 
			 SEO 2,731 5.60 45.1 1,663 1,068 2429 182 120 (1)— 2,731 
			 HEO 735 1.50 43.6 391 344 631 59 45 (1)— 735 
			 Fast Streamer 0 0.00 0 0 0 (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 EO 4,683 9.60 43.8 2,644 2,039 4222 287 174 (1)— 4,683 
			 AO 3,0891 63.20 42.1 2,1314 9,577 27565 1,673 1,654 (1)— 30,892 
			 AA 9,197 18.80 44.2 5,473 3,724 8182 612 403 (1)— 9,197 
			 Grand Totals 48,905 100.00 45 31,920 16,985 43,614 2,813 2,396 (1)— 48,823 
		
	
	
		
			  Her  Majesty's Courts Service 
			  Salary band  Full time equivalent of all staff  Salary bands as % of all staff  Headcount gender all staff  Headcount of permanent on strength ethnicity  Headcount of permanent on strength ethnicity 
			  M  F  White  BME  Undeclared  Not k nown  Total 
			 SCS 64.98 0.30 49.87 49 18 52 1— 1— 8 60 
			 Grade 6, 7 832.91 4.20 47.34 459 392 591 35 97 96 819 
			 SEO 1,859.8 9.30 43.82 704 1,307 1,365 191 202 219 1,977 
			 HEO 1,181.13 5.90 44.61 386 828 884 92 142 64 1,182 
			 Fast Streamer 7 0.00 26.46 4 3 1— 1— 1— 1— 1— 
			 EO 3,614.56 18.00 42.77 1,038 2,811 2,687 300 460 277 3,724 
			 AO 8,834.43 44.10 40.11 2,406 7,330 5,979 900 1,087 1,248 9,214 
			 AA 3,335.72 16.70 51.02 1,556 2,616 2,524 151 614 651 3,940 
			 Unknown Band 302.45 1.50 3,554 99 235 81 11 11 69 172 
			 Grand Totals 200,32.98 100.00 42 6,711 15,540 14,163 1,680 2,613 2,632 21,088 
		
	
	
		
			  Office  Of The Public Guardian 
			  Salary band  Full time equivalent of all staff  Salary bands as % of all staff  Average age of all staff  Headcount gender all staff  Headcount of permanent on strength ethnicity 
			  M  F  White  BME  Undeclared  Not known  Total 
			 SCS 2 60 55.26 1 1 (1—) (1—) (1—) (1—) (1—) 
			 Grade 6, 7 12 3.70 46.92 6 6 8 (1—) (1—) (1—) 8 
			 SEO 26.83 8.20 46.98 15 12 15 (1—) (1—) (1—) 15 
			 HEO 40.23 12.30 42.86 19 23 21 8 9 (1—) 38 
			 Fast Streamer 1 0.30 29.11 0 1 (1—) (1—) (1—) (1—) 0 
			 EO 117.64 36.10 40.09 51 73 29 55 21 15 120 
			 AO 111.4 34.20 37.16 64 53 20 39 9 39 107 
			 AA 15.12 4.60 42.96 8 8 7 (1—) (1—) (1—) 7 
			 Grand Totals 326.22 100.00 42.6 164 177 100 102 39 54 295 
		
	
	
		
			  Tribunals Service 
			  Salary band  Full time equivalent of all staff  Salary bands as % of all staff  Headcount gender all staff  Headcount of permanent on strength ethnicity  Headcount of permanent on strength ethnicity 
			  M  F  White  BME  Undeclared  Not k nown  Total 
			 SCS 11 0.40 52.52 7 4 (1—) (1—) (1—) (1—) (1—) 
			 Grade 6, 7 63.35 2.20 48.62 35 32 39 (1—) 6 17 62 
			 SEO 57.46 2.00 46.66 28 30 42 5 (1—) 8 55 
			 HEO 163.72 5.60 43.13 53 115 98 19 20 23 160 
			 Fast Streamer 4 0.10 28.74 1 3 (1—) (1—) (1—) (1—) 0 
			 EO 466.49 16.10 40. 1 164 330 256 91 37 83 467 
			 AO 1,847.23 63.60 39.92 712 1,324 919 365 165 382 1,831 
			 AA 291.27 10.00 42.42 143 183 162 44 20 54 280 
			 Unknown Band 0.5 0.00 40.04 0 1 (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 0 
			 Grand Totals 2,904.52 100.00 42.8 1,143 2,021 1,516 524 248 567 2,855 
		
	
	
		
			  Scotland Office and Offices of Advocate-General 
			  Salary band  Full time equivalent of all staff  Salary bands as % of all staff  Headcount gender all staff  Headcount of permanent on strength ethnicity  Headcount of permanent on strength ethnicity 
			  M  F  White  BME  Undeclared  Not k nown  Total 
			 SCS 6 16.70 50.88 5 1 (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 Grade 6, 7 8 22.20 39.36 4 4 (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 SEO 2 5.60 38. 87 1 1 (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 HEO 4 11.05 32.01 3 1 (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 Fast Streamer 2 5.60 26.21 1 1 (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 EO 1 2.80 28.3 0 1 (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 AO 8 22.20 44.95 4 4 (1)— (1)— (1)— 6 6 
			 AA 4 11.05 53 3 1 (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 Unknown Band 1 2.80 34.89 0 1 (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 Grand Totals 35 100.00 39.2 21 14 (1)— (1)— (1)— 6 6 
		
	
	
		
			  Wales Office 
			  Salary band  Full time equivalent of all staff  Salary bands as % of all staff  Average age of all staff  Headcount gender all staff  Headcount of permanent on strength ethnicity 
			  M  F  White  BME  Undeclared  Not known  Total 
			 SCS 4 7.20 42.93 4 0 (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 Grade 6, 7 9 16.20 44.55 6 3 (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 SEO 8 14.50 38.42 1 7 6 (1)— (1)— (1)— 6 
			 HEO 10 18.10 37.14 5 5 (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 Fast Streamer 0 0.0 0 0 0 (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 EO 14.67 26.60 36.18 7 8 6 (1)— (1)— (1)— 6 
			 AO 7.72 13.90 45.51 3 6 6 (1)— (1)— (1)— 6 
			 AA 2 3.60 6.27 1 1 (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 Grand Totals 55.39 100.00 44.3 27 30 18 (1)— (1)— (1)— 18 
		
	
	
		
			  Office for Criminal Justice Reform 
			  Salary band  Full time equivalent of all staff  Salary bands as % of all staff  Headcount gender all staff  Headcount of permanent on strength ethnicity  Headcount of permanent on strength ethnicity 
			  M  F  White  BME  Undeclared  Not k nown  Total 
			 SCS 14 4.20 47 11 3 (1)— (1)— 10 (1)— 10 
			 Grade 6, 7 25 7.30 47 18 7 12 (1)— 13 (1)— 25 
			 SEO 66.82 19.60 41 34 33 29 (1)— 37 (1)— 66 
			 HEO 47.77 14.00 40 34 21 18 (1)— 31 (1)— 49 
			 Fast Streamer 49.59 14.6 38 36 27 14 (1)— 47 (1)— 61 
			 EO 57.39 16.9 41 35 27 9 13 40 (1)— 62 
			 AO 9.23 2.70 41 3 10 (1)— (1)— 7 (1)— 7 
			 AA 0 0.00 0 0 0 (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 Unknown Band 70.47 20.70 30 21 23 (1)— (1)— 44 (1)— 44 
			 Grand Totals 340.27 100.00 40.6 192 151 82 13 229 (1)— 324 
		
	
	
		
			  National Offender Management Service 
			  Salary band  Full time equivalent of all staff  Salary bands as % of all staff  Headcount gender all staff  Headcount of permanent on strength ethnicity  Headcount of permanent on strength ethnicity 
			  M  F  White  BME  Undeclared  Not k nown  Total 
			 SCS 54.88 3.40 51 31 25 23 (1)— 33 (1)— 56 
			 Grade 6, 7 101.28 6.30 48 81 46 31 (1)— 95 (1)— 126 
			 SEO 262.28 16.40 42 144 121 82 7 176 (1)— 265 
			 HEO 191.85 12.00 41 161 108 69 15 185 (1)— 269 
			 Fast Streamer 147.82 9.30 40 76 102 55 26 98 (1)— 179 
			 EO 254.63 15.90 40 113 162 58 53 164 (1)— 275 
			 AO 219.94 13.70 40 80 177 27 26 203 (1)— 256 
			 AA 25.28 1.60 43 13 19 (1)— (1)— 26 (1)— 26 
			 Unknown Band 343.2 21.4 48 89 19 6 (1)— 141 (1)— 147 
			 Grand Totals 1,601.16 100.00 43.7 788 779 351 127 1,211 (1)— 1,99 
			 (1) Denotes a number below five. Code of practice does not follow figures to be published that would identify individuals.   Note:  Unknown Bands:- Former DCA HQ and HMCS - The unknown grades represent those staff whose option letters are yet to be finalised. NOMS and OCJR—secondees from the Police/Prison Service.

Environment Protection: Fixed Penalties

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 29 November 2007,  Official Report, column 676W, on environment protection: fixed penalties, what the aggregate revenue was from the fines in each year since 1999-2000.

Jonathan R Shaw: I have been asked to reply.
	The aggregate revenue from the fixed penalty notices is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Reporting Period  Aggregate Revenue (£) 
			 April 2006 to March 2007 1,997,879 
			 April 2005 to March 2006 1,100,669 
			 April 2004 to March 2005 369,368 
		
	
	Data are not held centrally on revenue prior to April 2004.
	Pursuant to the answer of 29 November 2007,  Official Report, column 676W, new data have been published on the number of fixed penalty notices issued by local authorities. From April 2006 to March 2007, 54,015 fixed penalty notices were issued, of which 33,255 were paid.
	This data are also available on the Defra website.

Environment Protection: Fixed Penalties

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 29 November 2007,  Official Report, column 676W, on environment protection: fixed penalties, which legislation the fines in 2005-06 were issued under.

Jonathan R Shaw: I have been asked to reply.
	The fixed penalty notices, to which the answer of 29 November 2007 refers, were issued under the following legislation:
	section 88 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 for litter offences;
	section 4 of the Dogs (Fouling of Land Act) 1996 and section 59 of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act for dogs-related offences;
	section 43 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 for graffiti and fly-posting; and
	section 8 of the Noise Act 1996 for noise.
	A breakdown of the statistics collected by the Department on local authorities' use of fixed penalty notices is available on the Defra website.

Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Southend West of 12 December 2007,  Official Report, columns 594-96W, on the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, what the penalty given to each individual found guilty of an offence under the Act was in  (a) 2004,  (b) 2005 and  (c) 2006.

Jack Straw: Data on the penalties given for offences under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 is shown for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of defendants found guilty at all courts for offences under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, including penalties given, in England and Wales, 2000 to 2006, broken down by sex( 1) , year and police force area( 2) 
			   2004  2005  2006 
			   Greater Manchester  Sussex  Metropolitan Police  Leicestershire  Staffordshire  Metropolitan Police  West Midlands  Metropolitan Police 
			 Found guilty 2 1 4 1 1 6 2 6 
			 Attendance order—12 hours 1 — — — — — — — 
			 Community punishment order—100 hours — 1 — — — — — — 
			  
			  Fine 
			 £50 — — — — — — — 2 
			 £75 — — 1 — — 2 — — 
			 £80 — — — — 1 — — — 
			 £100 — — 1 — — 3 — — 
			 £120 — — — 1 — — — — 
			 £7,500 — — — — — — — 1 
			  
			 Reference to a youth offender panel — — 1 — — — 1 — 
			  
			  Conditional discharge 
			 180 days — — — — — 1 1 — 
			 360 days 1 — 1 — — — — — 
			  
			  Imprisonment 
			 270 days — — — — — — — 1 
			 300 days — — — — — — — 1 
			  
			 Supervision order—180 days — — — — — — — 1 
			 (1) All defendants found guilty were male. (2 )Please see the footnotes to the original PQ (172425) found in  Hansard on 12 December 2007,  Official Report, column 594W. (3) There were no triable either way offences in 2005.

Political Parties: Finance

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has for a public consultation on reform of political party funding prior to introducing legislation.

Jack Straw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Horsham (Mr. Maude) of 19 November 2007,  Official Report, column 515W.

Energy: Meters

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will require suppliers of energy to install smart meters in  (a) new properties and  (b) existing properties when the meter is (i) faulty and (ii) at the end of its working life; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government are assessing responses to their recent consultation on metering and billing, and will shortly set out its next steps, including its approach to the delivery of smart meters.

Financial Assistance Scheme

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when he expects the Government to make an announcement on whether it will be appealing against the European Commission's recent ruling on the state aid rules infringements by Shetlands trusts as a result of local financial assistance schemes operated by them.

Jonathan R Shaw: I have been asked to reply.
	Although I have yet to see any grounds for an appeal, I have written to my counterpart in Scotland seeking his views on the matter. Should the Government decide to lodge an appeal, I will write to the hon. Member.

Trades Union Congress: Finance

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether the Trades Union Congress has a political fund, according to the records held by the Certification Officer.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 10 January 2008
	According to the records held by the Certification Officer, the Trade Union Congress has no political fond.

UK Trade and Investment: Defence

Richard Benyon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform on what date he was informed of the Prime Minister's decision to close the Defence Export Services Organisation and to move its remit to UK Trade and Investment.

Gareth Thomas: holding answer 11 December 2007
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for New Forest, East by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 12 December 2007,  Official Report, columns 292-93.

Unfair Commercial Practices Directive Regulations

John Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what timetable he envisages for the (a) publication, (b) consultation on and (c) implementation of the unfair commercial practices directive regulations. [R]

Gareth Thomas: The Department of Trade and Industry consulted on draft Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (CPRs) implementing the unfair commercial practices directive (UCPD) in May 2007. The draft CPRs reflect the outcome of two earlier consultations about implementing the UCPD. The first consultation paper was published in December 2005 and sought views in three areas: interpretation; enforcement; and simplification of existing legislation. The second consultation in December 2006 sought views on how to frame the criminal offences in the regulations implementing the directive.
	I propose to lay the draft CPRs before Parliament in January. If approved in debate the regulations will come into force on 6 April 2008.

Wind Power: North East Region

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the Government's policy is on the development of a North sea wind farm.

Malcolm Wicks: In November 2002, DTI published a consultation document 'Future Offshore' which outlined a strategic approach to offshore wind development in UK waters, available at the following link:
	http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file22791.pdf.
	To date, the Government and The Crown Estate have held two competitions, Rounds 1 in 2000 and Round 2 in 2003, for offshore wind development rights. A map of these site lease areas can be found at the following link:
	http://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/round_1_2_windfarm_sites-2.pdf.
	On 10 December, the Government announced the launch of a strategic environmental assessment (SEA) on a draft plan for up to 25 GW of new offshore wind development rights in UK waters, including in the North sea. A scoping consultation document, entitled 'UK Offshore Energy SEA Scoping for Environmental Report', is
	currently available at the following web link:
	http://www.offshore-sea.org.uk/downloads/Offshore_Energy_SEA_Scoping.pdf.
	Depending on the results of the SEA and the magnitude of impacts identified, the Government will take a decision on what the acceptable level of offshore wind development is. As in previous rounds, developers would then be required to bid for site leases through leasing competitions to be held by the Crown Estate and, if successful, conduct their own site evaluations and undertake an environmental impact assessment before applying for the necessary development and environmental consents to build an offshore wind farm.

Breast Cancer: Screening

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of eligible women were seen within the 36-month standard for breast cancer screenings  (a) in England and  (b) in each breast screening unit in the latest period for which figures are available.

Ann Keen: Data on the 36 month interval for breast cancer screening is collected quarterly by national health service cancer screening programmes. Data for England and each breast screening unit is provided in the following table. 38 month interval rates are also given as an indicator of how close intervals are to the national standard of 36 months.
	
		
			  Breast screening unit  Percentage 36 month breast cancer screening interval rate—July to September 2007  Percentage 38 month breast cancer screening interval rate—July to September 2007 
			 England 70 88 
			 Bolton 86 99 
			 Chester 99 99 
			 Crewe 96 99 
			 East Lancashire 46 99 
			 Greater Manchester 25 50 
			 Liverpool 63 99 
			 Macclesfield 62 100 
			 North Cumbria 99 100 
			 North Lancashire 10 11 
			 Warrington 90 98 
			 Wigan 32 67 
			 Wirral 100 100 
			 North Tees 53 64 
			 Newcastle 90 95 
			 Gateshead 97 100 
			 Pennine 59 95 
			 North Yorkshire 85 99 
			 Leeds Wakefield 16 42 
			 Humberside 8 12 
			 Sheffield 53 97 
			 Doncaster 99 100 
			 Barnsley 99 100 
			 Rotherham 84 99 
			 North London 21 22 
			 West of London 97 98 
			 Barking and Havering 33 56 
			 Central and East London 28 73 
			 South East London 96 98 
			 King's College London 78 99 
			 South West London 88 99 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 47 90 
			 Chelmsford and Colchester 70 98 
			 Cambridge and Huntingdon 40 98 
			 Epping 1 1 
			 East Suffolk 97 99 
			 James Paget 57 92 
			 King's Lynn 56 74 
			 Norfolk and Norwich 68 97 
			 Peterborough 78 98 
			 South Essex 51 87 
			 West Suffolk 79 97 
			 City Hospital (Birmingham) 91 92 
			 Dudley and Wolverhampton 98 99 
			 Hereford and Worcester 73 99 
			 North Staffordshire 99 100 
			 Shropshire 45 96 
			 South Birmingham 96 98 
			 South Staffordshire 99 99 
			 Walsall and Sandwell 99 100 
			 Warwickshire, Solihull and Coventry 99 100 
			 Avon 74 96 
			 Cornwall 96 98 
			 Dorset 96 97 
			 East Devon 81 97 
			 Gloucestershire 98 99 
			 Somerset 92 97 
			 South Devon 97 98 
			 West Devon 99 99 
			 Wiltshire 89 99 
			 Northampton 98 99 
			 South Derbyshire 78 99 
			 North Derbyshire 95 98 
			 North Nottinghamshire 100 100 
			 Kettering 99 100 
			 Leicester 92 97 
			 Lincolnshire 21 23 
			 Nottingham 98 98 
			 Jarvis Centre (Guildford) 95 98 
			 West Sussex 48 84 
			 Brighton 13 57 
			 Canterbury 83 87 
			 Maidstone 33 87 
			 Medway 73 88 
			 Aylesbury 100 100 
			 Wycombe 100 100 
			 Milton Keynes 99 100 
			 Reading 83 95 
			 Windsor 99 100 
			 Oxford 17 99 
			 North and Mid Hampshire 53 96 
			 Southampton and Salisbury 24 84 
			 Portsmouth 100 100 
			 Isle of Wight 99 100 
		
	
	We take the issue of the 36-month standard between screens very seriously. That is why Professor Mike Richards, the national cancer director, wrote to the chief executives of all 10 strategic health authorities in England on 9 February 2007 highlighting the importance of maintaining the 36-month interval.

Cancer

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) elective and  (b) emergency bed occupancy rates for cancer patients in the NHS as described in figure 13 of his Department's Cancer Reform Strategy were (i) for all cancers in total and (ii) for each cancer type in each year since 1997.

Ann Keen: Information on bed occupancy rates for cancer patients is not available.
	The title to Figure 13 on page 97 of the "Cancer Reform Strategy" is incorrect. As described in paragraph 7.24, Figure 13 shows the number of beds by cancer type rather than the bed occupancy.
	The number of elective and emergency bed days for all cancers since 1997 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Elective  Emergency 
			 1997-98 2,007,489 2,588,500 
			 1998-99 1,953,676 2,629,029 
			 1999-2000 1,968,890 2,735,877 
			 2000-01 1,935,569 2,851,509 
			 2001-02 1,903,450 2,949,132 
			 2002-03 1,885,870 3,053,128 
			 2003-04 1,856,090 3,064,913 
			 2004-05 1,812,749 3,083,436 
			 2005-06 1,841,968 3,103,193 
			 Total 17,165,751 26,058,717 
			  Source:  National Cancer Services Analytical Team, www.canceruk.net 
		
	
	Information on the number of elective and emergency bed days broken down by cancer type since 1997 has been placed in the Library.

Cancer: Clinical Trials

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the evidential basis was for the statement in paragraph 1.9 of his Department's Cancer Reform Strategy, that England has the highest national per capita rate of cancer trial participation in the world; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The number of cancer patients entering trials in the United Kingdom has grown since 2001 to the point where it almost the same as the number entering trials in the United States of America (USA). The USA and the UK have the largest number of cancer trial participants in the world. These facts, and the difference in population size between the two countries, form the basis of our assessment of the relative level of the current per capita participation rate in the UK.

Cancer: Health Services

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) missed diagnoses of cancer,  (b) radiotherapy errors and  (c) chemotherapy errors were reported to the National Patient Safety Agency in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Ann Keen: The National Patient Safety Agency collects reports of patient safety incidents on the National Reporting and Learning System (NRLS) in England and Wales. All national health service trusts have been able to report into this system since late 2005. The number of reports received each year has increased as more trusts report into the system. Staff usually report patient safety incidents before any further investigation or follow-up has taken place.
	Complete statistics are available for the years October 2005 to September 2006 and for October 2006 to September 2007. The following figures refer to England and Wales.
	 Missed diagnoses of cancer
	Incidents were identified from the NRLS where the incident type related to delay or failure to diagnose or related to problems with tests or scans.
	Between October 2005 and September 2006, 433 such incidents were reported.
	For the period October 2006 to September 2007 there were 502 cases reported.  Radiotherapy errors
	Incidents were identified from the NRLS for the most recent two years where the patient was receiving radiotherapy treatment. It is important to note that the incidents identified will have resulted from a range of factors and may not be directly related to radiotherapy treatment.
	Between October 2005 and September 2006, 1,468 such incidents were reported. Between October 2006 and September 2007 there were 1,854 cases reported.
	 Chemotherapy errors
	Incidents were identified from the NRLS where the patient was receiving chemotherapy treatment. Cases were identified from drug names used in the incident description or medication fields relating to chemotherapy therapy: It is important to note that the incidents identified will have resulted from a range of factors and may not be directly related to chemotherapy treatment.
	Between October 2005 and September 2006 there were 4,942 such incidents reported. For the period October 2006 to September 2007 there were 6,344 cases reported.

Cancer: Information

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the proportion of cancer patients who are not given any financial support information in the course of their treatment.

Ann Keen: The latest assessment of the proportion of cancer patients who were not given any financial support information during the course of their treatment was made by the National Audit Office in their 2005 report, "Tackling Cancer: Improving the patient Journey".

Departmental Pay

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 10 December 2007,  Official Report, column 303W, on departmental pay, how many of those earning over £100,000 were employed as  (a) special advisers and  (b) in a political role in each year since 1997.

Ben Bradshaw: Since 2003, the Government have published on an annual basis the number of special advisers in each pay band. For the most recent information I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister on Thursday 22 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 147-51WS.
	Information on the numbers and costs of special advisers prior to 2003 was provided at regular intervals and this information is available in the Library.

Departmental Public Buildings

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of new buildings approved by his Department were built to the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method  (a) very good and  (b) excellent standard in each of the last five years; and what the construction cost of those buildings was.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 10 December 2007
	The National Health Service Environmental Assessment Tool kit (NEAT) is the Department's response to the Government's objective of a sustainable construction programme through the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology (BREEAM).
	All NHS capital development schemes must submit a NEAT as part of their Appointment of Preferred Bidder Case or Full Business Case for private finance initiative (PFI) and public capital funded schemes respectively. To be approved the business case must demonstrate a commitment to meeting the NEAT score rating of 'excellent' for a new build or 'Very Good' for a refurbishment scheme. All business cases approved by the Department in the last five years and for which records are held centrally have therefore done so. The full list of these schemes and their construction (capital) costs is in the following table.
	
		
			  NHS trust  Financial close/  tender award date  Procurement route  Capital value  (£ million) 
			 Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys 4 July 2003 PFI 16 
			 East Lancashire Hospitals 9 July 2003 PFI 110 
			 Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber Mental Health 11 August 2003 PFI 15 
			 Derby Hospitals 12 September 2003 PFI 312 
			 Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals 1 October 2003 Public capital 57 
			 Hammersmith Hospitals 1 October 2003 Public capital 25 
			 Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre 1 October 2003 Public capital 45 
			 East Lancashire Hospitals 13 October 2003 PFI 30 
			 Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals 1 November 2003 Public capital 59 
			 North West London Hospitals 6 November 2003 PFI 69 
			 Brighton and Sussex University 12 December 2003 Public capital 12 
			 Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals 19 February 2003 PFI 134 
			 Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals 15 January 2004 PFI 238 
			 Newham University Hospital 27 January 2004 PFI 55 
			 Southampton University Hospitals 1 February 2004 Public capital 53 
			 Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership 13 March 2004 PFI 83 
			 Salisbury Health Care 4 March 2004 PFI 24 
			 Plymouth Hospitals 1 April 2004 Public capital 31 
			 Kirklees PCT 21 April 2004 PFI 27 
			 Wandsworth PCT 6 May 2004 PFI 75 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 10 May 2004 PFI 32 
			 Buckinghamshire Hospitals 21 May 2004 PFI 47 
			 Brighton and Sussex University 10 June 2004 PFI 36 
			 The Lewisham Hospital 8 July 2004 PFI 72 
			 Leeds Teaching Hospitals 15 October 2004 PFI 265 
			 Cambridge University Hospital 27 October 2004 PFI 76 
			 The Cardiothoracic Centre Liverpool 1 November 2004 Public capital 49 
			 Hampshire PCT 18 November 2004 PFI 36 
			 Kingston Hospital 23 November 2004 PFI 33 
			 Central Manchester and Manchester Children's Hospitals 14 December 2004 PFI 512 
			 Sheffield Teaching Hospitals 19 December 2004 PFI 35 
			 Nottinghamshire Healthcare 23 December 2004 PFI 19 
			 Northamptonshire Teaching PCT 3 March 2005 PFI 28 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals 27 April 2005 PFI 299 
			 West London Mental Health—Women's MH 1 June 2005 Public capital 27 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 21 July 2005 PFI 24 
			 South London and Maudsley 12 September 2005 Public capital 25 
			 Sherwood Forest Hospitals 29 October 2005 PFI 326 
			 Portsmouth Hospitals 12 December 2005 PFI 236 
			 Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals 13 December 2005 PFI 129 
			 Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals 21 February 2006 PFI 67 
			 Ipswich Hospital 27 March 2006 PFI 36 
			 Barts and the London 27 April 2006 PFI 1,000 
			 St. Helens Hospitals 1 June 2006 PFI 338 
			 University Hospital Birmingham/Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health 8 June 2006 PFI 627 
			 South West Essex Teaching PCT 29 June 2006 PFI 30 
			 Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals 1 August 2006 Public capital 51 
			 Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children 9 October 2006 Public capital 75 
			 United Bristol Healthcare/North Bristol 16 October 2006 | Public capital 64 
			 University Hospital of North Staffordshire 1 December 2006 Public capital 55 
			 Taunton and Somerset 28 February 2007 PFI 21 
			 Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals 1-05-2007 Public capital 29 
			 Lincolnshire Teaching PCT 3 May 2007 PFI 29 
			 University Hospital of North Staffordshire/Stoke PCT 13 June 2007 PFI 375 
			 Mid Yorkshire Hospitals 22 June 2007 PFI 353 
			 Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals 29 June 2007 PFI 336 
			 North Middlesex University Hospital 27 July 2007 PFI 144 
			 Salford Royal Hospitals 5 September 2007 PFI 190 
			 Tameside and Glossop Acute Services 13 September 2007 PFI 109 
			 South Essex Partnership 5 October 2007 PFI 32 
			 Derbyshire Mental Health Services 9 October 2007 PFI 36 
			 West Hertfordshire Hospitals 14 October 2007 Public capital 40 
			 Northamptonshire Healthcare 31 October 2007 PFI 36 
			 Walsall Hospitals 3 November 2007 PFI 169 
			 Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys 6 December 2007 PFI 75 
			 Mid Essex Hospital Services 6 December 2007 PFI 148

Food: Safety

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria are used by the Food Standards Agency when determining whether to issue a food alert; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Food Safety Act 1990 places a statutory responsibility on the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to inform stakeholders of issues relating to food safety and food standards.
	The FSA provides such information to stakeholders in number of ways including webstories, press releases, letters and food alerts. Food alerts, in particular, are the FSA's formal method of communication with local authorities, who have responsibility for enforcing food law, on food safety issues that are of particular relevance to them. In determining the need for a food alert the agency takes into account the food safety requirements as specified in Regulation (EC) 178/2002 Article 14 of General Food Law, information already placed in the public domain, for example by a food business operator: and the need to provide relevant additional information to local authorities.
	Food alerts either provide local authorities with additional information or outline what action they should take in response to a particular food safety issue.
	In line with the agency's policy of openness these alerts are also published on the agency's website bringing them to the attention of other stakeholders. This information can be accessed on the FSA's website at:
	www.food.gov.uk/enforcement/alerts

Hospitals: Admissions

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many alcohol-related emergency admissions to hospitals in Southend West constituency there were in each year since 1997, broken down by  (a) age group and  (b) sex.

Dawn Primarolo: Information is not available in the format requested. The following table shows the count of finished admission episodes for alcohol-related emergency admissions by age and gender for Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Data for years 1997-98 to 2006-07.
	
		
			  National health service hospitals England and activity performed in the independent sector in England commissioned by English NHS 
			   Male  Female 
			   Age under 18  Age 18 and over  Age unknown  Age under 18  Age 18 and over  Age unknown 
			 2006-07 10 452 4 13 234 1 
			 2005-06 17 433 1 21 218 3 
			 2004-05 21 405 1 13 216 0 
			 2003-04 11 256 3 10 149 0 
			 2002-03 6 233 0 * 89 1 
			 2001-02 6 302 1 9 123 0 
			 2000-01 5 335 1 5 127 1 
			 1999-2000 9 301 2 9 130 1 
			 1998-99 8 247 2 * 122 0 
			 1997-98 7 266 2 * 133 1 
			  Notes:  Data quality HES are compiled from data sent by over 300 NHS trusts, and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England. Data is also received from a number of independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.  Finished admission episodes (FAE) A FAE is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.  Admission method codes used: 21 = Emergency: via accident and emergency (A & E) services, including the casualty department of the provider 22 = Emergency: via general practitioner 23 = Emergency: via Bed Bureau, including the Central Bureau 24 = Emergency: via consultant out-patient clinic 28 = Emergency: other means, including patients who arrive via the A & E department of another health care provider.  Assessing growth through time HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. During the years that these records have been collected the NHS there have been ongoing improvements in quality and coverage. These improvements in information submitted by the NHS have been particularly marked in the earlier years and need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. Changes in NHS practice also need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. For example, a number of procedures may now be undertaken in out-patient settings and may no longer be accounted in the HES data. This may account for any reductions in activity over time.  Low numbers Due to reasons of confidentiality, figures between 1 and 5 have been suppressed and replaced with "*" (an asterisk). This has not been done for the age unknown column as the admissions in this column would not be identifiable.  All diagnoses count of mentions These figures represent a count of all mentions of a diagnosis in any of the 14 diagnosis fields in the HES data set. Therefore, if a diagnosis is mentioned in more than one diagnosis field during an episode, all diagnoses are counted.  Diagnosis codes used: F10 - Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol K70 - Alcoholic liver disease T51 - Toxic effect of Alcohol  Finished consultant episode (FCE) A FCE is defined as a period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. The figures do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the year.  Ungrossed data Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), the Information Centre for health and social care.

Members: Correspondence

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when a reply will be sent to the hon. Member for Beaconsfield's letter of 30 July 2007 to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Care Services on the SIGN charity in Beaconsfield constituency.

Ben Bradshaw: A reply was sent on 23 August 2007.

NHS: Disclosure of Information

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what policies his has Department for making data collected by the NHS available to the pharmaceutical industry; what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of these policies; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: Any requests for national health service data from the pharmaceutical industry are treated in the same way as other requests from outside the NHS.

NHS: Finance

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in reviewing the impact of the market forces factor on  (a) the overall NHS funding formula and  (b) overall budgets of NHS trusts.

Ben Bradshaw: The Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation (ACRA) continually oversees the development of the weighted capitation formula. ACRA's current work programme includes a review of the market forces factor (MFF). The review of the MFF will also inform the MFF adjustments made to providers of national health service services paid for through the national tariff.
	Although ACRA has made good progress on some major aspects of its work programme, it has requested, and been granted, additional time to finalise the work that it is doing to review the formula. Given the importance of the weighted capitation formula it is crucial that ACRA has the time required to produce a robust and transparent formula.
	Only when this work programme is completed will ACRA finalise its recommendations to Ministers on potential changes to the funding formula. Ministers will then look at all of ACRA's recommendations and decide how to take these recommendations into account when making allocations to primary care trusts (PCTs) for 2009-10 and 2010-11.
	We will inform providers and PCTs of the changes to the formula, and the revenue allocations as soon as is practically possible after the completion of ACRA's work programme. The aim is to announce revenue allocations to PCTs for 2009-10 and 2010-11 by the summer 2008. The MFF indices applied to providers of NHS services paid for by the national tariff were published on the Department's website on 13 December as part of the national tariff package for 2008-09, and are available at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Policyandguidance/Organisationpolicy/Financeandplanning/NHSFinancialReforms/DH_81226

NHS: ICT

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what effect the recent renegotiation of the Connecting for Health contract with BT has had on the  (a) capital and  (b) revenue costs of the programme;
	(2)  what change there has been in the value of the Connecting for Health contract with BT following the recent renegotiation;
	(3)  if he will make available the details of the renegotiation of the Connecting for Health contract with each of the local service providers.

Ben Bradshaw: There has been no renegotiation of primary supplier contracts let by national health service Connecting for Health under the national programme for information technology, and no changes to their terms and conditions. There have, however, been 'resets' of the contracts. Reset is a normal, repeatable, process, for contracts with a long lifetime to ensure that their ongoing delivery reflects progress to date, current priorities, and deployment plans for the future, and that they continue to support the evolving needs of the NHS. However, reset allows for the option of agreeing enhancements to existing services or functionality that does not effect a change in contract scope or risk allocation.
	In the course of the reset of the BT contract for London, new requirements and additional services were identified by the NHS, for which a separate business case and funding of £55 million—£41.8 million capital and £13.2 million revenue—over the lifetime of the contract was subsequently approved. This does not represent an increase in the original cost of the contract for the original specification, but reflects new requirements for additional functionality.

Tomography

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) computerised tomography scanners,  (b) magnetic resonance imaging scanners,  (c) linear accelerators and  (d) positron emission tomography scanners have been available for use in the NHS in each year since 2000.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department does not collect this data centrally. Such data as is available from the Health Protection Agency (HPA) is shown in the following table. Data for positron emission tomography scanners is unavailable.
	
		
			  Modality  Installed base at January 2000  Installed base November 2007 
			 Computerised Tomography 285 395 
			 Magnetic Resonance Imaging 182 285 
			 Linear accelerators 152 243

Asylum: Sudan

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether Sudanese Embassy officials have conducted interviews in the UK with Sudanese asylum seekers whose appeal rights have not been exhausted or who have made a fresh claim; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: We take great care to protect individuals who pass through our asylum system and have confidence in the quality of our decision making process. We have a clear policy that external governments do not become involved in the re-documentation process until decisions have been made on cases. Removal of the individual should take place only once appeal rights have been exhausted and there are no other barriers to their removal.

Offenders

Ann Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were convicted under the Hunting Act 2004 in  (a) 2005 and  (b) 2006, broken down by police force area.

Vernon Coaker: Data showing the number of defendants proceeded against, found guilty, cautioned and fined under the Hunting Act 2004, broken down by police force area, are in the following below.
	
		
			  Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates1 courts, found guilty at all courts and fined, and the number of offenders cautioned by the police of offences under the Hunting Act 2004, England and Wales, by Police force area( 1,)( )( 2,)( )( 3,)( )( 4) 
			  Police force area  Proceeded against  Found guilty  Fined  Cautioned 
			  
			  2005 
			 Merseyside 1 1 1 1 
			 Northumbria — — — — 
			 Thames Valley 2 2 2 — 
			 Total 3 3 3 1 
			  
			  2006 
			 Cheshire 2 2 2 — 
			 Durham 1 — — — 
			 Essex 4 3 3 — 
			 Humberside 4 — — — 
			 Total 11 5 5 0 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis.  (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  (3) The Hunting Act 2004 came into force in February 2005.  (4) Where police forces are not listed assume a nil figure.

Economic Agreements

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many of the countries which have signed an interim economic partnership agreement have expressed an interest in including the Singapore terms in any future agreement.

Gareth Thomas: All of the current Economic Partnership Agreement (ERA) signatory countries have agreed to work towards concluding a comprehensive ERA including trade related areas to which the Singapore issues belong. The Caribbean ERA already includes provisions on investment, competition, public procurement and trade facilitation. The Southern Africa, West Africa, Central Africa and Pacific EPAs all include immediate provisions on trade facilitation. The remaining Singapore issues are covered by commitments to negotiate in the future by all parties.

Economic Agreements: Imports

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what safeguard clauses exist to protect African, Caribbean and Pacific producers from import surges in those countries who have concluded an Economic Partnership Agreement.

Gareth Thomas: All of the signed Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) contain safeguard clauses which provide the EPA signatory countries with the means to protect their industries where a high volume of imports from the EC looks likely to threaten it. These safeguard measures can include an increase in customs duties and/or the introduction of tariff quotas on the products concerned. These safeguards can be introduced where the EU imports are of such volume that they threaten serious injury to the industry producing like or directly competitive products, or where the imports could cause disturbances to a sector of the economy resulting in social problems or a deterioration of the economy. All of the EPAs also contain clauses to protect infant industries, where a high volume of EU imports could threaten an emerging industry producing like or directly competitive products.

Economic Agreements: Standards

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what monitoring and review mechanisms exist as part of the economic partnership agreements to enable countries to make their own assessment of the impact of the agreements.

Gareth Thomas: The specific texts of the agreements and council conclusions approved in November 2007 underpin the EU's commitment to ensure that the implementation of EPAs is properly monitored. We expect the arrangements for each regional review mechanism to take shape over the next few months following further consultation and planning between ED and ACP officials.
	The UK pushed strongly at the November General Affairs and External Relations Council to ensure that the conclusions' language on monitoring and review mechanisms reflected a focus on assessing the development impact of EPAs with emphasis on inclusive, participatory processes. In 2008 we will explore with other European partners how to ensure adequate national ownership, capacity and resources for effective monitoring and review mechanisms. We are also in the process of preparing specific initiatives, such as support planned to strengthen monitoring through improved statistical capacity in the Caribbean.

Economic Agreements: Standards

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what measures his Department has put in place to assess the effect on those countries which did not conclude an economic partnership agreement by the 31 December 2007 deadline;
	(2)  what measures his Department has put in place to make an impact assessment for those countries that have signed  (a) a full economic partnership agreement and  (b) an interim arrangement.

Gareth Thomas: We recognise it is crucial to assess the economic, social and other impacts of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) on the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries which have signed up to them. Over the course of 2007, as part of ongoing plans to strengthen the content and use of impact assessment—we have had discussions with the European Commission and others, particularly on improving the Sustainability Impact Assessments which the Commission is obliged to carry out for trade-related agreements (including EPAs).
	Following the launch of both the full and interim EPAs, early work is now underway within DFID and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform to review the content of the agreements and assess how they will work for development. We are working through our offices in the ACP regions, consulting with ACP governments to ascertain their views on the impact of EPAs. In the Caribbean, we are in the process of planning some focused analytical work to identify the constraints and opportunities afforded by EPAs as part of our broader engagement on regional economic integration in the area. More broadly, we will be monitoring the development
	of the EPA review mechanisms due to be set up in each region. Terms of reference have not yet been developed for these mechanisms but we are investigating opportunities for development partners to be involved and will be working with EU partners, including the Commission on how to ensure national ownership, capacity and resources to ensure their and effectiveness and sustainability.